Social services

Mission

To improve and raise the level of social services in Bulgaria, by bringing expertise and funds from sources in the US. People with disabilities, elderly people, war veterans, orphan children and other groups of the society, to which life has been unkind, deserve better living conditions and services.

Objectives

To research and study the existing structure of the social sector and identify problem areas. To offer solutions, in cooperation with other European and Bulgarian organizations.

To focus on selected projects and initiatives and carry them out with the help of mentors from the US. To attract financial help for the social sector, by using the Social Impact Bond Fund model, designed in the US. To work in cooperation with the municipalities, in their efforts to outsoars different social services.

Our Work So Far

Meetings have been held with leading officials in the social sector on government and municipal level, as well as private foundations, providing social services. A visit took place to the premises of the Four Paws Foundation, where guided dogs are trained to assist the blind. More visits are planed for 2018, to explore the conditions at the homes for the elderly, people with disabilities and orphanages.

Social Impact Bond – A new concept for supporting social services in Bulgaria.

Social Impact Bond (SIB) is a new concept created by Larry Biehl and BEC which combine the efforts of state and municipal institutions with private companies, investors and philanthropist from United States in order to improve the social services sector in Bulgaria.

The idea behind this project is that often the state and local municipalities have to provide and manage a number of social services such as care for the elderly, people with low income, orphans, people with disabilities, abandoned children, impoverished communities, etc. They are loaded with a lot of administration and management burdens for which they do not have the capacity. It is a better solution to outsource some of the social services to private companies or NGOs. Recently the mayor of Sofia, Mrs. Yordanka Fundukova, publicly announced that the Sofia Municipality is looking for more and more companies who would like to take on different social services.

Another idea behind it is that investment in the social sector could be profitable. Often wealthy individuals (philanthropists) would like to donate money for a good cause but are not sure that it will reach the right beneficiaries, especially in underdeveloped countries or places with corruption and heavy bureaucracy. They are also not sure that the projects will be sustainable. For this reason BEC has designed a model of SIB, which will work as follows:

Selected Social Services provided by state and municipality will be identified by BEC

BEC will identify Bulgarian companies and NGOs who are able to provide these services to the beneficiaries.

The successful completion of the projects will be evaluated by independent experts and special social metrics.

The evaluation results will be submitted to investors from the United States who will be paid back by donors and philanthropists.

Donors and philanthropists will pay only for completed projects and achieved results.

The concept of SIB already worked successfully in the Scandinavian countries. It is a win- win situation for everybody involved. The philanthropists will be assured that their money is donated wisely to selected social causes also they receive tax reduction according to 501c (3) of US Tax Legislation. The investors will be paid with interest for completed work by the donors. The state and municipalities will successfully outsource a number of their social services to private companies and NGOs, which will relieve them from an enormous burden and will guarantee better results. The beneficiaries will profit from a better service and expertise. BEC will be the facilitator and link between them all.

The SIB model is in accordance with the UNDP (United Nations Development Program). There are 17 sustainable development goals (SDG) such as SDG 8 – Employment and economic growth, SDG 11- sustainable cities and communities, SDG 3 – health and welfare, SDG 6 – Clean water and sanitation, SDG 7 – Accessible and clean energy, etc.

Through the SIB model Bulgaria could attract fresh new capital which will be used for support in the social sector with participation of innovative Bulgarian companies. This will improve the ecosystem as a whole and will lead to economic growth.